After the mildly disappointing Corpse Bride, Tim Burton is back with a re-engagement with an ageless classic — Lewis Caroll’s Alice In Wonderland. But since this is Tim Burton, you must prepare to see Caroll’s Wonderland in a whole new and grown up way.

Many would expect this to be a full out children’s movie but we have had so many Alices in Wonderlands that we really should know better by now. Even though this is not restricted to a mature audience, this movie has elements that only adults would be able to appreciate fully. What else do you expect from a Alice in Wonderland movie that has a 19 year old Alice and a drag queen in the equation? And I would like to remind you that the original story itself is so very layered with meaning and imagery that it is hard to resist the temptation to interpret it beyond the superficial meaning.

The story starts with a 19 year old Alice being proposed and running away as a result. Then she discovers and falls into a rabbit hole and the hallucination adventure begins. The world here is much different than the one you read in the book and the dynamics between the main characters like the Mad Hatter, the White Queen and the Red Queen. Johnny Depp is the star attraction as the Mad Hatter and he easily sells a lot of the movie tickets.

A lot of people have criticized Tim Burton for blatantly ‘Disneyfying’ the movie by diving Wonderland in to clear sides and ultimately creating a typical Good v/s Evil battle to end with. This would of course come across to a lot of people as blasphemous and dilution but the movie remains enjoyable to the general audience nonetheless. It manages to remain interesting and preserve some element of surprise. Also, it is a complete visual treat and a must watch in its 3D version.

The movie has been quite a success worldwide and has held on to the UK & Ireland Box Office charts at the top position at the time of writing.

[read]